Meet Harley Hagan | Balloon Decorator and Event Planner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Harley Hagan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Harley, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?

One of the biggest pieces of conventional advice that I disagree with is that you need to have a degree to be successful. I had a very nontraditional education, and never was a great student.  I don’t have a degree let alone a business degree and I own and run a successful company for 5 and half years that continues to grow and thrive. 

There are tools you can learn in school that can be really helpful, yet the traditional education system just doesn’t work for everybody. Again you can thrive without it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I love balloons! Truly balloon décor is an art form. It is incredible to see what balloon decorators can create, and how their art makes people feel. True masterpieces can be created with balloons. The sky’s the limit! You can create something small or something massive yet each piece adds something different and special to the space it is in. I will never grow tired of seeing how people’s faces light up when they see something outstanding created with balloons. It doesn’t matter if it is in person or in a photo, balloons make people smile. There are endless possibilities of things to creative with balloons. We recently made a pair of glasses that were 16 feet long. They will blow you mind!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

There are so many restaurants and bars in the Denver area, I couldn’t make just one list.   Some of my favorite food and drink places are Cholon, Bar Dough, Williams and Graham, Venice. Denver Marketplace, Simms Steakhouse, Death and Co, Red Stone Meadery, 4 noses, and Vine Street. 

If you are looking for something fun to do I suggest always bring people to Red Rocks. The Celestial Seasoning tour in Boulder is a must see! It is also fun to walk around 16th street and people watch. Honestly there’s just so much to do it’s hard to pick just a few! I would just go explore and see where you end up.

There are so many options such as concerts, live music venues, escape rooms,  art and small exhibits, and pop up things to do in Denver that are always changing. I would suggest looking up on google fun things that are happening in that time period. There is always something fun happening in Denver!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

There are two people who have played a monumental role in my success as a business owner. First is my mom who for my entire life she has had my back. She is always here for me and supporting me through all of my crazy choices. She is an entrepreneur as well so she knew when I started this adventure how crazy it would be. No matter what it is, she is so helpful and wants to be part of my success. She bought a house 5 minutes away so I could move my work studio and inventory into her space. It’s a bigger space that makes life so much easier.

The other person is my husband. He is my gentle giant. He is a great support for me and the business.  He works full time as an engineer and still finds the time to help me run my business. This man works so hard and keeps me on track. He continues to push me and love me through the late nights, the early mornings, the last minute cancellations of plans due to business and everything in between. Truly I am very lucky to have two incredible people in my life!

Website: www.denverballoonsandevents.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/denverballoonsandevents

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Image Credit: Wedding image with the balloon wall by https://emilyelizabethphotography.me/